206 



SUBKINGDOil ARTICULATA. 



the two sexes pairing, eggs for the next generation are laid, 

 and the parents die.* 



S^ 



General Characteristics. — The Hymenopters (mem- 

 brane-winged) have the wings coarsely veined and the ante- 

 rior pair hooked to the posterior in flight. The females 

 have stings, or ovijMsitors, and the social instinct is highly 

 developed. 



Apidae. — Honey-bees are of three sorts — queens (females), 

 drones (males), and workers (imperfectly-developed females). 



ng. sss. 



Fig. S6h. 



Fig. SSS. 



Drone. 



Worker. 



In each swarm is one queen, which lays the eggs in three 

 broods : the first producing workers ; the second, drones ; 

 and the third, queens. The drones are the idlers, and are 

 killed by the workers after the pairing season. The workers 

 an' the laborers ; some being wax-producers ; others, builders ; 

 and others, imrses. Ploney, wax, and the cement used by 



* Althongh the majority pass through this complete transformation, some are 

 distiD^uished from the larval state by wings, while others undergo no change 

 except in size from the egg to maturity. 



